Locking assembly for sliding plug-type door



Dec. 3, 1968 K. H. PALSSON 3,413,758

LGCKING ASSEMBLY FOR SLIDING FLUGTYPE DOOR Filed July 15, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 F 50 r m! I a 4'? sin 63 F I G I KRISTJAN H. PALSSON INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Dec. 3, 1968 PALSSON I 3,413,758

LOCKING ASSEMBLY FOR SLIDING PLUG-TYPE DOOR Filed July 15, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG 2 F E i a:

F|G 3 I i 1 N 1 I. '3 ,28 7 88 I 98 I IOO E I02 I YLJ 22 IO KRISTJAN H. PALSSON INVENTOR.

:1 ATTORNEYS Dec. 3, 1968 K. H. PALSSON 3,413,758

LOCKING ASSEMBLY FOR SLIDING PLUG-TYPE DOOR Filed July 15, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG 5 KR! STJAN H. PAL'SSON INVENTOR.

ATTORNE YS Dec. 3,

Filed July 15, 1966 1968 K. H. PALSSON 3,413,753

LOCKING ASSEMBLY FOR SLIDING PLUG-TYPE DOOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 KRISTJAN H. PALSSON INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS K. H. PALSSON 3,413,758

LOCKING ASSEMBLY FOR SLIDING PLUG-TYPE DOOR Dec. 3, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed July 15, 1966 F|G l| KR ISTJAN H. PALSSON INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS nited States Patent 3,413,758 LOCKING ASSEMBLY FOR SLIDING PLUG-TYPE DOOR Kristian H. Palsson, Seattle, Wash., assignor to Pacific Car and Foundry Company, a corporation of Washington Filed July 15, 1966, Ser. No. 565,572 7 Claims. (Cl. 49220) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An opening and closing assembly for plug-type railway car doors comprises a gear rotatably mounted on the door, a door lock bar assembly, a rotatable gear actuating lever mounting a pinion in driving mesh with the gear, a linkage assembly interconnected with the gear to shift the door laterally into and out of the railway car door opening, and a decelerating mechanism adapted to be engaged by the gear as the door is moved out of the car door opening to restrain the gear against uncontrolled rotation caused by expanding door seals.

This invention relates to sliding plug-type doors of the type mounted on traveling carriages by upright crank shafts, and especially refrigerator doors. More particularly, this invention relates to sliding plug-type railway car doors, and especially doors for refrigerated railway cars.

An object of this invention is to provide an assembly for positively and simply unlocking a carriage mounted plug-type door and moving the unlocked door laterally outward from its door opening so that the door may be moved longitudinally to expose the door opening, and for positively and simply moving the door laterally inward to the door opening and locking the door therein.

Another object is to provide such an assembly wherein a carriage mounted door is locked and unlocked by cam and lever operation.

A further object is to provide such an assembly wherein a carriage mounted door is moved laterally into and out of its door opening by gear operation having a high mechanical advantage.

Still another object is to provide such an assembly wherein a deceleration device is employed in conjunction with gear operation to frictionally restrain gear rotation caused by expanding refrigerator door seals as an unlocked door is unsealed from the opening and moved laterally from its door opening.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a door with an opening and closing assembly of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view in partial cross-section taken along the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view in partial cross-section taken along the line 33 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a detail elevation view of a decelerating device of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view in partial cross-section taken along the line 55 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a detail front elevation view of a device for supporting the door and for laterally moving the door into and out of door opening;

FIG. 7 is a detail side elevation view taken along the line 77 in FIG. 6; and

FIGS. 8-11 are detail views illustrating the opening sequence of the opening and closing assembly of this invention.

The figures and description of the invention refer to railway cars. However, it is to be understood that the invention is applicable to any plug-type carriage mounted door.

In general an opening and closing assembly of this invention for a carriage mounted railway car door comprises at least one lock bar member adapted to lock and unlock the door in the door opening, a lever pivotally mounted on the door and connected to the lock bar member, means for pivoting the lever to move the lock bar member to lock or unlock the door including a cam rotatably mounted on the door. The opening and closing assembly also comprises means for supporting the door and for moving the door laterally into and out of the door opening which includes at least one upright shaft member rotatably mounted on the door, a gear member rotatably mounted on the door, means linking the gear member to the shaft member adapted to turn the shaft member in response to rotation of the gear member, and means for rotating the gear member including a pinion meshed with the gear member. Means adapted to be engaged by the gear member when the door is unlocked to restrain rotation of the gear member as the door is moved laterally out of the door opening may be provided where expanding door seals, as would be used in refrigerator cars, create such rotation problems.

With reference to FIGS. 1-5, the assembly of this invention comprises a plurality of lock bar members 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 slidably mounted in the frames 20 of the door 22. Lock bar member 10 is vertically positioned on the vertical center section of the door and lock bar members 12, 14, 16, and 18 are horizontally positioned about equidistant from one another and from the door top and bottom. The horizontal lock bar members are pivotally connected to opposing arms of bell cranks 24 and 26 as shown and extend therefrom to the door frames. The intermediate arms of the bell cranks are pivotally connected to the vertical lock bar member 10. The bell cranks are rotatably mounted on the doors by mounting brackets 28 and 30 (shown in phantom in FIG. 1) such that upward retraction of the vertical lock bar member 10 from the extended locking position shown in FIG. 1 into the door frame will inwardly retract the horizontal lock bar members by pivotal movement of the bell cranks about their respective axis of rotation.

Retraction of the vertical lock bar member 10 is effected by the interaction of a lever 32 and a radial cam 34. Lever 32 is pivotally mounted at one end on the door by a stub shaft 38 which extends across the space between the door and a mounting plate 36 and is rotatably connected to the vertical lock bar member 10 by pin 40 intermediate the lever ends. The lever end opposite the pivotal connection is provided with a flat surface 32a inclined downwardly and inwardly for lifting contact by the cam 34. The cam 34 is rotatably mounted on the door by a stub shaft 42 which extends across the space between the door and the mounting plate 36. The cam axis of rotation is positioned at a slightly lower elevation than the elevation of the lower pivotal axis. The circumferential edge of the cam is so designed that upon counterclockwise rotation thereof the lever will be pivoted upwards a sufficient distance to lift the vertical lock bar member out of a locking position. The cam circumferential edge is also so designed that a small degree of cam rotation can initially occur without lifting the lever for a reason to be explained subsequently.

With reference to FIGS. 1-3 and 67 the assembly of this invention also comprises a plurality of vertical crank shafts 44 and 46, a gear segment member 43 and interconnecting linkages 45 and 46. The crank shafts are rotatably mounted on the door by a plurality of mounting brackets 48 and 50, respectively. Upper 5656 and lower 5454 crank members are fixedly connected to the upper and lower ends of the crank shafts. A pair of intermediate crank plates 60a60b and 62a-62b, respectively,

are fixedly connected to the crank shafts at about the same elevation as the elevation of the stub shaft 38 and the outer end of the linkages are pivotally connected between the paired plates by pins 61 and 63, respectively. Thrust washer assemblies 64 are placed on the lower ends of the crank shafts above the lower cranks on which the lower door mounting brackets 48 and 50 seat to support the door.

The lower crank members 5454 are generally one piece castings or forgings and each comprise an arm connected to collar 54c which encloses the respective crank shaft and to collar 54d which mounts lower carriage 68 eccentrically of the crank shaft. Each lower carriage comprises an upright channel framework 72, a pair of wheels 74 and 76 journal mounted between the sides of the framework for rolling contact on a rail 7 mounted on the railway car, and an adjustable door height pin 80 journalled to the framework and threaded into the carriage mounting collars. The upper crank members 56 are also generally one piece castings or forgings and each comprise an arm connected to collar 560 which encloses the respective crank shaft and to collar 56d which mounts roller 82 eccentrically of the crank shaft. The rollers are rotatably journalled to the respective collars and run in an inverted channelshaped guideway 86 mounted on the railway car.

The gear member 43 is rotatably mounted on the door by stub shaft 38 and provided with gear teeth on its outer periphery. A small pinion 88 is rotatably mounted on stub shaft 42 and meshed with the teeth of the gear member. The gear member is provided with two lever locking fingers 90 and 92, the finger 90 being positioned to bear against the top edge of lever 32 so as to lower lever 32 and to hold lever 32 in a lowered position to insure maintenance of the lock bar members in an extended condition, and finger 92 being positioned to bear against the bottom of lever 32 so as to hold lever 32 in a raised position to insure maintenance of the lock bar members in a retracted condition after the door has been opened. The inner ends of the linkages 45 and 47 are pivotally connected to the gear member on diametrically opposite sides of the gear member axis of rotation by pins 94 and 96 such that the centers of the pins 94 and 96 and the center stub shaft 38 are substantially horizontally aligned. These pivoted linkage connections are offset from the longitudinal extent of the linkages for a reason that will be described subsequently. By reason of the horizontal alignment of the centers, rotation of the gear member will not immediately effect a substantial change in the position of either the linkages or the crank shafts.

The cam 34 and pinion 88 are adapted to be rotated in unison, preferably by being formed from a unitary member and keyed to the stub shaft 42. The stub shaft 42 extends sufficiently beyond the mounting plate 36 to have a door opening handle 98 fixedly connected thereto. Handle 98 is preferably provided in the form of a crank having diametrically opposed lever arms. When the door is closed and locked, one lever arm is vertically oriented and locked in the vertical position by a locking member 100 which is pivotally pinned to the door and rotated into engagement with a locking tab 102 on the lower lever arm.

Decelerating device 101, shown in detail in FIG. 4, is provided to resist unrestrained rotation of the gear member when the door is first opened, thus releasing energy from the compressed flexible door seal. This device comprises an arcuate spring-loaded friction lever 104 that is pivotally connected to the mounting plate 36 at a point prescribed to permit engagement with finger 90, and pivotally connected to a plunger rod 106 at its opposite end. Plunger rod 106 extends through a cylindrical spring mounting bracket 108 which is fastened to plate 36. A spring 110 encloses the plunger rod and acts against one end of the spring mounting bracket 108 and against an abutment I112 on the plunger rod to resist pivotal depression of the friction lever 104 toward the spring housing. The spring compression is adjusted by turning nut 117 on the threaded end of the plunger rod which extends through the spring mounting bracket. The spring mounting bracket is attached to the mounting plate 36. The friction lever is located in relation to the gear member such that the locking finger will slidably contact the friction lever as the gear member is rotated to turn the crank members and unseal the door from the door opening. The frictional contact between the locking finger 90 and the friction lever will prevent the gear member from becoming free wheeling and driving the pinion. Thus, when the door seal is broken, the tendency of the energy of the expanding seal members to force the door further from the opening is restricted. If the gear member was freely rotatable, however, the seal member expansion would spin the gear member, which in turn would drive the pinion and cause the handle 98 to spin out of control thereby endangering an operator opening the door.

The operation of the invention when opening a door is as follows. With the door closed and locked, the components are in positions shown in FIG. 8. The lock bar members are extended beyond the door edges and into the door opening frame. The locking finger 90 on the gear member is in contact with the lever 32 so that the lock bar members cannot become disengaged from the door opening frame unless the door handle is turned. As shown in FIG. 8, the cam 34 is shaped to provide a small angle. on the order of about 15 for example, between the cam edge surface and the lever surface 32a so that the locking finger 90 can be raised upwardly away from the lever 32 before the cam engages lever sloping surface 32a to force the lever upwardly to retract the lock bars, and unlock the door.

In FIG. 9, the door handle has been rotated counterclockwise through an angle of about thereby retracting the lock bar members and unlocking the door. In the figure, the door has not yet been opened because the gear member has not rotated sufliciently to appreciably shift the crank linkages.

In FIG. 10, the door handle has been rotated through an angle of about 260 thereby raising the lever 32 beyond the reach of the cam, and thereby rotating the gear member sufiiciently to begin breaking the door seal. The locking finger 90 on the gear member has been brought into contact with the friction lever 104 to slow turning of the gear member by expanding door seals.

In FIG. 11, the door handle has been rotated through four full turns thereby rotating the gear member through its full extent and bringing the locking finger 92 into contact with the lever 32 to insure holding the lock bar members in a retracted, unlocked condition. The complete rotation of the gear member has also pulled the linkages inwardly thereby turning the crank shafts and the cranks 90 to force the door laterally away from its opening. Because the pivotal linkage connections to the gear members are offset, the inner ends of the linkage can fit around the stub shaft 38 without interference as shown in this figure. The door can now be shifted longitudinally along the rail 78 to expose the door opening.

When the door is to be closed, it is shifted longitudinally on the rail 78 in front of the door opening, and the door" handle then rotated clockwise. In sequence, the following actions are thereby accomplished. The gear member is rotated clockwise, drawing locking finger 92 away from the lever 32 and turning the crank shafts and cranks 90. The door is thus shifted laterally into sealing engagement with the door opening. As the door handle is rotated through the last 115 of the fourth revolution, the locking finger 90 contacts the lever 32 thereby forcing the lever downward and extending the lock bar members into a lock position.

What is claimed, is:

1. An opening and closing assembly for a sliding plugtype door which comprises means for locking and unlocking said door; a gear rotatably mounted on said door: means for supporting said door and for movinu said amlaterally into and out of a door opening including at least one shaft member rotatably mounted on said door and linkage means pivotally connected to said gear member and to said shaft member eccentrically of the respective axis of rotation of said gear member and of said shaft member; means for rotating the gear member including a pinion rotatably mounted on said door in mesh with said gear member and adapted to rotate said gear member and handle means for rotating said pinion; and means, independent of said linkage means, adapted to be engaged by said gear member when said door is unlocked to restrain rotation of said gear member to prevent free wheeling of said gear member that would drive said pinion and cause said handle means to spin out of control, such restraining means including a decelerating device with a lever adapted to be frictionally engaged and depressed by said gear member when said door is moved laterally out of said door opening.

2. An opening and closing assembly for a sliding plugtype door which comprises means for locking and unlocking and unlocking said door; a gear rotatably mounted on said door; means for supporting said door and for moving said door laterally into and out of a door opening including at least one shaft member rotatably mounted on said door and linkage means pivotally connected to said gear member and to said shaft member eccentrically of the respective axis of rotation of said gear member and of said shaft member; means for rotating the gear member including a pinion rotatably mounted on said door in mesh with said gear member and adapted to rotate said gear member and handle means for rotating said pinion; and means, independent of said linkage means, adapted to be engaged by said gear member when said door is unlocked to restrain rotation of said gear member to prevent free wheeling of said gear member that would drive said pinion and cause said handle means to spin out of control, such restraining means including a decelerating device with a lever adapted to be frictionally engaged and depressed by said gear member when said door is moved laterally out of said door opening, wherein the gear member rotation restraining means comprises a spring-loaded friction lever pivotally mounted at one end on said door, and wherein said gear member has a finger adapted to slidably contact and depress said friction lever as said gear member is rotated.

3. An assembly according to claim 2 wherein the gear member rotation restraining means includes a plunger rod pivotally connected to the opposite end of said friction lever, and a spring member resisting pivotal depression of said friction lever by the gear member finger.

4. An opening and closing assembly for a railway car door which comprises at least one lock bar member adapted to be inserted in and retracted from a door locking position; a lever member pivotally connected to said door and connected to said lock bar member; a cam rotatably connected to said door and adapted to pivot said lever member to retract said lock bar member from a door locking position; a gear member rotatably mounted on said door; means for supporting said door and for moving said door laterally into and out of a door opening including at least one shaft member rotatably mounted on said door and a linkage member pivotally connected to said gear member and to said shaft member eccentrically of the respective axis of rotation of said gear member and of said shaft member; a pinion rotatably mounted on said door in mesh with said gear member and adapted to rotate said gear member and rotate said shaft member to move said door laterally into and out of said door opening; means for rotating said cam and said pinion; and means adapted to be engaged by said gear member when said lock bar is retracted to restrain rotation of said gear member as said door is moved laterally out of said door opening.

5. An assembly according to claim 4 wherein said gear member is provided with two lever locking fingers, one finger being adapted to bear against the top of said lever member to hold said lever member in a lowered position to maintain said lock bar member in an extended condition when said door is closed and locked, and the other finger being adapted to bear against the bottom of said lever member to hold said lever member in a raised position to maintain said lock bar member in a retracted condition when said door is opened; and wherein the gear member rotation restraining means comprises a spring-loaded friction lever pivotally mounted at one end on said door such that said one finger slidably contacts and depresses said friction lever as said gear member is rotated.

6. An assembly according to claim 5 wherein the gear member rotation restraining means includes a plunger rod pivotally connected to the opposite end of said friction lever, and a spring member resisting pivotal depression of said friction lever by the gear member finger.

7. An assembly according to claim 5 wherein said cam and said pinion are rotatable in unison, and wherein said cam is adapted for a small degree of rotation before effecting a pivotal movement of said lever member so that said one finger can be removed from bearing contact with the top of said member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner. 

